Usually, Gregg Popovich goes right for the jugular when he decides to condescend to whatever poor schmuck has to conduct a sideline interview with him. But he threw us a bit of a curveball last night, answering the first two questions he got from Charles Barkley earnestly and without any sneering. Was he on his best behavior in an effort to make amends with David Stern? Did his respect for Barkley as a player cause him to change his tune?

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Not so! Pop was simply waiting to strike, like a deadly spider with a deep-seeded hatred for innocuous lines of questioning. Sorry, Chuck. You almost made it out unscathed.